LadyRunic

A giant List of Ideas and Potential Stories [High-Casual to Advance] [18+]

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A giant List of Ideas and Potential Stories [High-Casual to Advance] [18+]

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The Prince's Royal Guard

Zatana glared at Clarisse as the woman laughed, so assured that she would not break under the torture that would come. She had the right mind for the work, the dark elf would credit her that. After all, it was only the job that mattered, and if you failed to get away? Well, that was hardly the problem of your employer or whomever your loyalty lay with under the condition of course that you would not break under torture or had something stashed away as to hasten your demise. Had it been her in Clarisse's situation? Zatana would have bit off her own tongue seeing so many of her fellows captured. If it had been her alone? She would hold out, endure and wait and see if escape would be viable later. If that proved too much? She knew death would be merciful by then if she at first lacked the resolve. Restraining herself from throttling the woman, Zatana gave a mental sigh of relief as the doors opened to admit Balthazar. In this matter, it was better for the spymaster to make the call. Her own fear of her grandfather's potential recall of her and declaring her task a failure was pushing her far too deep into the realm that her torture without restraint might kill a few of them.

Balthazar's words to Clarisse relieved some of that tension however and the dark elven woman nearly crowed in delight at the expressions on the faces of the incompetent assassin and the 'old' wizard. Watching with a malicious smile as Clarisse and her company were dragged off to cells, Zatana spared an ear for Acrius's tale and winced at the many flaws and mistakes. Her own were quite clear and she doubtlessly hear about them in length at some point. Of course, it would match most closely to the own tear she was taking out of her spirit. How could she have joined the siege at the cost of the Prince's protection throughout it? She could have and should have refused the order and her own want to wander and observe the town to remain near Prince Leonidas. It was not a mistake she would repeat. But there was some relief in the fact that the prince would not be dying of the poison. Looking away from the cells to focus on the others and shield her obvious relief of that fact from the prisoners, Zatana felt her spine stiffen as Balthazar turned to her.

And ordered her to get to work.

While the wizard looked nearly as sadistic as a drow could hope, Zatana's fist curled over her heart in a salute. Her black eyes flashing with delight and fury and her smile a hungry grin. "It will be my pleasure, My Lord Balthazar. Would you care to assist or observe at your leisure?" She would not necessarily ask or offer, but Zatana had a measure of respect for the man. It was nothing she would not given her own commander. Looking to several of the guards, she considered them. They were from Bergkoff and she debated using them to assist them. Her lips thinned as she realized they would be of use. If only to help manage the prisoners while she kept herself fresh. Six prisoners to break was no small number and despite herself, Zatana found herself a bit skeptical about the order to be 'quick' about it. As it was, those guards would walk away with tales of drowish torture and that was something Bergkoff would not welcome.

Not waiting for Balthazar's reply but allowing him to stay or go as well as the others, Zatana stalked down the row of cells like some hunting cat. Fingering each door until she came to the man she had captured in the stables. "Perhaps I should have my mare brought down..." She crooned. "She did want a piece of your flesh." The man shuddered as Zatana nodded to the guards as they seized him and dragged him from his cell to tie him to a chair. Zatana paused in front of Clarisse's cell and gave the woman a cruel smile as she followed them. "Gag her and the others, I would not want them to get any rude ideas. Her..." She gestured at the stubborn woman. "You, I shall save for last. It will be most delightful." Continuing to the chair she studied the man in it who looked up at her in terror and Zatana selected a knife from a set that one of the stony face guards brought. "It is not drowish make, but... It shall suffice to make them sing the tunes they know. You." She gestured at one of the guards who was helping to gag the prisoners per her order. "Bring me-" She rattled over several items, some of which seemed nonsensical but with others, there was no mistaking what they were for. Satisfied that her tools would be gathered she turned back the man who was regretting everything in his life that brought him to this point, the dark elven woman gave a throaty laugh. She would start with the weakest and work towards Clarisse then back through the others in reverse order. They would live the first time, but the second time? They had a choice and there was only one way to end Zatana's questioning. To answer her questions.

The Prince's Royal Guard

Forcing her heavy breathing to slow, Zatana took a moment to survey the stables then bent to the task at hand. The man would not be moving for a while and while the drow would be happy enough with that, it would be sloppy to not properly process him as would be expected per her training. It was that professionalism that kept her moving when she wanted to sit down. Snatching one of her smaller daggers, the assassin sliced the lesser's shirt and tunic along the seams carefully watching for any hidden items. Which she was does not disappointed with a set of lock picks, setting them aside upon the cloth that had been the man's cloak. The boots and socks followed. Ruthlessly Zatana checked his hair, behind his ears, and the seams and hem of his trousers. It was commonplace for a strangler's cord, poison, or some charm to be hidden away in cases such as these. Jerking his mouth open, she poked out and pulled out a cord nearly choking the man as she pulled out a small packet and flicked it onto the cloak as well. Finally satisfied that he would not be pulling a suicide attempt by her neglect, the drow gave a snarl as she ruthlessly bound his wrists together and hobbled his feet with leads from the stable.

The mare within her stall gave a snort of disgust that matched her mistress's mood as the drow gathered the cloak. "Yes, I agree." Zatana spat her irritation, though she did approach the mare much to the terror of the man as he slowly began coming out of his pain-induced stun. "I should give him to you, perhaps if we do not need him the Lord will agree." She stroked the mare and offered a handful of hay. The mare took it and nearly took her fingers as well though Zatana was an old hand at the devil creature's tricks. Turning away, the drow gripped the man's scalp, hauled him to his feet, and shoved him before her. "Move and make another foolish move?" Her voice was a velvet croon as if begging the man to do something stupid. "And we shall see what body parts you do not need before your questioning even begins. Just imagine the pain I could deal you if I had a dagger to your..." She laughed a cruel sound that echoed in the night. There were some benefits to the image the drow had and this was one of those times that Zatana would abandon her silence to shamelessly intimidate the enemy.

Guiding the man back into the keep, looking for the Spymaster and mage. Zatana was fingering her dagger and considering how best to butcher the man before her. Something was going on this night and if anything happened out of hand with the Prince? She was going to destroy this man as a sacrifice to her rage. Though she had left the Dread Coast behind the woman was still a drow and worse? If something had happened, it might well mean her own head or something else unpleasant. Unsatisfied with how slow the man was walking, from a mixture of pain and trying to buy time, Zatana finally gripped his neck and hauled him along. Her nails digging furrows into his skin that dripped red blood in tiny trails down his neck. "Cowardly bastard." She sneered in disgust. Spying a servant she snapped at the woman, her accent rolling harsh off her tongue. "Where is Balthazar, and the Prince?"

The kitchen maid who had been awaken by the noise of people running about and now was hauling a kettle to the Duke's room with which to boul water, nearly dropped the brass kettle from the terror of a drow woman appearing out of the darkness hauling a man. Of course, everyone knew there was a drow in the Prince's Royal Guard since the seige, but this was- "Woman, where is the mage?" The maid pointed, her hand shaking as the drow strode pass hauling a shirtless and brutally beaten young man with her. "The Prince?" The question made the younger woman jump and shake her head mutely, unable to answer a question she did not know the answer to. The curse that followed would have turned a cow's milk sour. Zatana herself was past the point of caring. Spies were expected. Spies who were being such idiots as to try and steal her own horse of all horses?

"Did everyone lose their senses this night?!" She demanded of the young man and jerked him along as he stumbled over the stones. She had taken a bit of time to recover and chaos had opened a door and dropped incompetents upon the castle. It only proved her point right that being on alert all the time was a good idea. The one time you relaxed even slightly the enemy would slip in and decide to cause problems. Growling Zatana snapped at a few more servants for directions, and decided if she didn't find the spymaster shortly she would butcher this particular man herself and be damned what the humans, elves, orcs, werewolves, lizardmen, priestesses, or any other being she could possibly give a single damn about thought! Then she could be rid of him in hands he would not escape from and she could go check on the Prince and stay with the Prince until this entire matter was settled!

A giant List of Ideas and Potential Stories [High-Casual to Advance] [18+]

Bump

A giant List of Ideas and Potential Stories [High-Casual to Advance] [18+]

Bumping this.

A giant List of Ideas and Potential Stories [High-Casual to Advance] [18+]

bumping this

Grishaverse Fandom Role-Play

I've finished the whole series and am very interested. However, I'm worried I'll spoil things by letting one of the big reveals slip. As the final two books (King of scars and Rule of Wolves) put a lovely spin on things. So, I'll keep an eye on this, though.

A giant List of Ideas and Potential Stories [High-Casual to Advance] [18+]

Boop

A giant List of Ideas and Potential Stories [High-Casual to Advance] [18+]

Going to bump this